Anchor Charts

While I am not the expert on anchor charts, they are definitely one of my favorite things in the world of instruction.  There is something about creating them with the students, referring to them during teaching points, and then the joy of sticking them up on the wall as we move onto a new idea or discovery.  

Text Structure:

Nonfiction Unit 1st-2nd Grades

The amazing 1st grade team in my building, Wildflower Elementary, has embraced the reader's workshop mini-lesson with reckless abandon.  I'm just utterly impressed by the quality of their lessons and hope we'll continue to see our kids grow as readers and deepen their thinking about books.  

They have taken the original 3rd grade nonfiction teaching points and are breaking them down to support with more days on a single teaching point to provide additional practice toward mastery.  Hats of to everyone on the team for collaborating!

1st-2nd Grade Nonfiction Unit: Good readers use a variety of strategies to understand nonfiction text.  

Teaching Point 1: Good readers identify important details about a topic as they read. 

Day 1: Good readers identify important details about a topic as they read. 

-Using Bats by Lily Wood as model/try

Day 2: Good readers identify important details about a topic as they read.

-Using All About Frogs by Jim Arnosky as model/try

Day 3: Good readers identify important details about a topic as they read.

-Using Giraffes by Sally Morgan

Day 4: Good readers identify important details about a topic as they read.

-Using Pigs by Gail Gibbons

Day 5: Good readers identify important details about a topic as they read.

-Using Sharks by Sally Morgan

Nonfiction Unit (Grade 3-ish) Lessons

Fearless co-workers and Literacy teammates jumped in headfirst and started to create lesson plans for a nonfiction unit (much gratitude and thanks!). Given that we're in the last push before the state test, the lessons aren't in a typical sequence for introducing nonfiction text in the workshop setting.  As we revise the scope and sequence for future years, I would add in multiple additional lessons and not jump immediately into main idea and relevant details.  I think students need to spend considerable time processing through details (significant vs. insignificant) and then work to synthesize the details into an accurate main idea.   

Unit: Good nonfiction readers use a variety of strategies to understand what they're reading. 

Good readers get help identifying the main idea of nonfiction text by reading the title of the book or chapter. Good readers can identify significant details to support the main idea of the text they are reading. Good readers identify important details about the topic as they read.  Good readers ask themselves, "What do all of the important details have in common?" to help them identify the main idea.  Good readers use the main idea and important details to retell what information they've learned. Graphic Organizers to Support Unit: Identifying details to determine main idea - post-it "mat" and space to write main idea (There is room for 4 post-its within the "details" box). Teaching Points 3 & 4 Differentiated organizers to support what all of the details have in common to identify main idea. Teaching Points 3 & 4

Read Aloud Plans (Picture Books)

I first used many of these picture book plans with my 2nd grade class.  Starting in January 2013, since my students aren't quite as proficient of readers, I will be using them with my 3rd grade literacy group.  Depending on the purpose and reading level of your students, they could definitely be used with a wide range of rades. 

All of the read-alouds are written the same way to include:
-Main Idea/Lesson of the story in both adult/student friendly language
-Aligned teacher "Think Alouds" and student "Turn and Talks"

Ideally, the entire read aloud would take about 15-20 minutes, with some books being shorter and others longer.  All of the read alouds I post will be utilized for teacher modeling and student try's during Reader's Workshop lessons.  We'll be emphasizing fiction at first, and then jumping to nonfiction.  

Read Aloud Plans:

Doctor De Soto by William Steig

Enemy Pie by Derek Munson

My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits

Not Norman: A Goldfish Story by Kelly Bennett

Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth

Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel: "Tomorrow"
Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel: "The Kite"

Houndsley & Catina: Plink & Plunk by James Howe
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Julius: The Baby of the World by Kevin Henkes

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes

Oliver Button is a Sissy by Tomie de Paola

Ruby the Copycat by Peggy Rathmann

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts

Wings by Christopher Myers

The journey to the present...

I've only been teaching for seven years, but somehow within that limited amount of time I have taught reading in MANY ways.  I started at a high-performing charter school in Colorado where we read "classic-ish" novels and developed worksheets and plans to align to the books.  Then, I worked at another high-performing charter in New York City where my world was rocked by Reader's Workshop.  And then, I moved back to Colorado Springs and became a pseudo reading-interventionist and was faced with teaching a "skills-based" reading method.  

While I recognize there is no perfect way to teach a child to read, I know that one style of teaching reading that has resonated most within me as an educator and is currently inspiring me to write and share units, lesson plans, and technology files.  I'm sure there will be typos not only in my lesson plans, but in my posts, and I ask for your grace as I work to get things created, posted, and out to others.  I'm also aware that many other people are probably doing and creating even more amazing lessons than I will post, but maybe someone will find these helpful.  All I ask, is that you use any materials you find and spread the word if you like them!  I hope this will become a place where passionate teachers can find, share, and collaborate to impact all students.